Mounting photovoltaic arrays onto tile roofs presents unique challenges. First, some tiles need to be removed so that photovoltaic system mounting hardware can be attached to the rafters in the roof below. A common approach has been to remove several tiles and then attach tile hooks to the roof rafters at these locations. The area where the tiles have been removed from the roof then needs to be sealed to prevent water intrusion. Finally, the photovoltaic array is then mounted onto the tile hooks (or onto hardware mounted onto these tile hooks).
A common concern with existing tile hook approaches has been preventing water leakage into the building after the rafter connections have been made. What is required to solve this problem is a flashing system that transports water around the fasteners without permitting the water to enter into the roof through the fastener holes.
Unfortunately, these flashing problems are more complex when working with Spanish tiles (a.k.a.: “S tile”) roofs. For example, standard flashings are simply not shaped for use with Spanish S-tile roofs. What is instead desired is a flashing system that is shaped for use with curved S-shaped tile roofs, yet also seals around the tile hook connection to the roof such that rain water is prevented from entering into the roofing membrane at the tile hook connection point. Ideally, such a system would also provide some adjustability such that mounting hardware and brackets could be positioned at desired locations regardless of the exact location of the building rafters. Moreover, such a system would ideally provide a water-tight seal using resilient (i.e.: not brittle) materials. As will be shown below, the present invention provides such a system.